Steve

Cohen

Cohen, who has recently become more involved in day-to-day operations, added that Alderson is serving as an advisor to baseball operations and that the club might go all season without a president of baseball operations. Billy Eppler remains as the club’s general manager. Alderson has been with the Mets since 2021. He previously served in New York’s front office from 2011 until 2018.

It’s a historic hire for the Mets, as Benn becomes the highest-ranking female employee in baseball operations in the history of the franchise. Benn spent the previous two seasons working for Major League Baseball as the senior coordinator of baseball operations.

Sherman identifies McCullough as the “sixth and expected to be final first-round interview” for the opening in Queens. Buck Showalter, Brad Ausmus, Matt Quatraro, Joe Espada, and Bob Geren are presumably the other five. A previous report from Sherman suggests that the list will be shrunk down to two or three candidates ahead of a second -- maybe final? -- round of face-to-face meetings next week.

He’s the first to interview with the club, although that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the favorite to get the job. The Mets are also expected to interview Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Pirates bench coach Don Kelly and longtime manager Buck Showalter.

He’ll do so virtually on Zoom. There are at least six known candidates for the managerial opening in Queens, and Sherman hears that the plan is to whittle the list down to two or three names ahead of face-to-face interviews -- and perhaps a final decision -- next week. Showalter, 65, has served as the manager for four different major league teams (Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Orioles) over parts of 20 seasons. He’s been working in baseball broadcasting the last couple of years.

While MLB owners have locked out the players, bringing the player movement side to a halt, the Mets are getting moving on their managerial search. Buck Showalter, Brad Ausmus, and Joe Espada are the early favorites, but Quatraro and Pirates bench coach Don Kelly have also been mentioned as possibilities. While Quatraro doesn’t boast the experience of the big names in the search, he has been the Rays’ bench coach for the past three seasons and held a variety of roles prior to that.

The agreement is already in place, per multiple reports, but the Mets are conducting an extensive background check after what they’ve experienced with some recent staff members. Eppler is expected to be officially announced as the new GM in Queens on Thursday or Friday. He served as the general manager of the Angels from 2015-2020 following a long run in the Yankees’ front office.

The two sides have reached an agreement on terms and the deal will become official assuming he passes a background check. That’s an important detail after what happened with Jared Porter’s hiring last offseason, so the team will be extra cautious this time around. Still, assuming everything checks out, Eppler will be on the job later this week. And there won’t be much time for him to get his feet wet, as the offseason moves are already well underway. With Noah Syndergaard on the move, the Mets need to be aggressive on the pitching front.

Andy Martino of SNY.tv hears that Eppler will take the job, although it’s not a done deal yet. Momentum had appeared to be swinging toward Eppler and the Mets have finally filled their front office void following a lengthy search. Eppler was the Angels’ GM from 2015-2020 and before that had a long tenure in the Yankees’ scouting department and front office.

Andy Martino adds that Eppler “will be in control of baseball operations and have final say on baseball matters.” Heyman says that Brad Ausmus “could be high on the Mets’ managerial list” if Eppler’s deal is indeed completed. Ausmus was the Angels’ skipper when Eppler was GM there and his firing “was at owner Arte Moreno’s behest,” per Heyman.